English Open: Ronnie O'Sullivan survives scare to reach second round
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Aged 47, Ronnie O'Sullivan is 29 years older than his first-round opponent Ben Mertens
Ronnie O'Sullivan survived a scare to reach the second round of the English Open with a 4-3 victory over Belgian teenager Ben Mertens in Brentwood.
The 18-year-old overturned a three-frame deficit to force the holder and seven-time world champion into a first-round decider.
O'Sullivan made a break of 63 to claim victory and will now face Thailand's Dechawat Poomjaeng.
"He [Mertens] is a great cueist," O'Sullivan told Eurosport.
"He hits the ball well, I like his game. The sky's the limit for him really.
"I think he has a very good snooker brain, sees the shot, plays the shot. Great lad, and just plays the game nice."
Elsewhere, world number two Judd Trump was also forced into a deciding frame before beating 21-year-old Jackson Page 4-3.
Page could have claimed victory but missed his chance in the final frame.
Four-time world champion Mark Selby earned a 4-3 victory against Noppon Saengkham, while current world champion Neil Robertson made breaks of 110, 122, 67 and 88 as he cruised past Andrew Pagett 4-0.
Northern Ireland's Mark Allen, who was delayed in arriving at the tournament after his flight was cancelled because of the winter weather conditions, defeated Mitchell Mann 4-1.
Earlier on Monday, 2021 Masters champion Yan Bingtao was suspended from the World Snooker Tour as part of an ongoing investigation into match-fixing.
China's Yan, the world number 16, was due to play in Brentwood but his suspension has been imposed after allegations of manipulating the outcome of matches for betting purposes.
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